Multi-touch attribution is a beautifully crafted illusion we all pretend to believe in while knowing deep down it’s flawed. The work is mysterious, but is it important? The big ad platforms sell us sophisticated solutions they don’t even trust for their own internal decisions. Is it time we accept marketing causation is a thing we can’t measure?More
Tag Archives: analytics
153: Sundar Swaminathan: How Uber measures the ROI of marketing according to their former Growth Marketing Data Science Lead
After leading Uber’s Marketing Data Science teams, Sundar shares insights that work for both tech giants and startups. Beyond uncovering that Meta ads generated zero incremental value (saving $30 million annually), they mastered measuring brand impact through geo testing and predicting LTV through first-week behaviors. Small companies can adapt these methods through strategic A/B testing and simplified attribution models, even with limited sample sizes. More
142: Lourenço Mello: Snowflake’s Product Marketing Lead on the marketing data stack of the future
Lourenço drops us straight into the gravity well of martech, where Snowflake’s latest report pulls in the tools that really matter, letting the fluff float away. It’s all about data gravity, bringing the applications to the data instead of wasting energy shuttling data around. This shift is redefining what’s possible, streamlining operations, and giving marketers a new superpower to harness the forces of AI and analytics.More
135: Pranav Piyush: Why multi-touch attribution is broken and what you should do instead
Pranav guides us out of the labyrinth of multi-touch attribution under the clear sky of incrementality and causality, urging marketers to focus on whether their efforts genuinely drive sales that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Early-stage startups can benefit by prioritizing simple methods like geo-based testing over complex attribution models, allowing intuition to guide resourceful experimentation.More
133: Simon Heaton: Buffer’s Director of Growth Marketing on agile sprints, holdout testing and why a CRM or GA4 isn’t in their tech stack
Simon helps us explore Buffer’s martech journey, highlighting their shift from traditional tools to a product-led approach driven by data and server-side analytics. We unpack their use of Customer.io for automation and hold out testing, Redash for data insights, and their agile sprint model that fosters continuous innovation. Discover how Buffer’s small team thrives with efficient, data-driven strategies.More
131: Siobhan Solberg: A guide to ethical marketing with data minimization and privacy strategies
Siobhan takes on a behind-the-scenes look at the hidden mechanics of data privacy, ethical marketing practices, and effective data management. Marketers should break down the user journey into less phases and minimizing data collection. Prioritizing ethical practices and transparency builds trust and leads to more informed decisions and stronger customer relationships.More
130: Sam Oh: Ahref’s VP of Marketing on how content marketers can stay relevant with AI
Sam takes us on a masterclass covering SEO fundamentals, evolving search behaviors, AI in content marketing, refreshing attribution thoughts and work-life balance strategies. He advocates for thoughtful AI integration to enhance research and streamline content creation. Sam shares Ahrefs’ approach of prioritizing product quality and user-centric content over detailed attribution models.More
128: Vish Gupta: Why simplification should come before automation if you want to avoid a Frankenstack
We touch on the pitfalls of Frankenstein stacks and the perks of self-service martech. Vish explains why martech isn’t just for engineers and highlights the efficiency of customized Asana intake forms. We also tackle the dangers of over-specialization for senior leaders. Additionally, we explore the intersection of martech and large language models (LLMs), providing insights on how to stay ahead in the evolving landscape.More
126: Michael Rumiantsau: AI’s role in democratizing data narratives for marketers
Michael’s on a mission to make data insights accessible and useful for everyone, not just experts, by leveraging AI to provide tailored, easy-to-understand insights that boost decision-making. This episode unpacks the future of Business Intelligence, automating insights with LLMs, and the importance of anomaly detection. Michael also discusses how proprietary data gives companies a competitive edge in the AI market.More
124: Angela Cirrone: How to pick between similar martech solutions and master platform migrations
Angela brings a fresh perspective to marketing operations, a key theme throughout the conversation is curiosity and how it helps boost your confidence and be a key lego block to a successful career. What makes her a unique leader is her experience being part of over a dozen acquisitions which came with over a hundred platform migrations and integrations.More